The Buffalo market has 72 branches-including 53 in Erie County and one in Orleans County-and 1,100 employees in Erie, Orleans, Niagara, Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties.

Barger will report to Gary Quenneville, KeyBank's Buffalo-based regional sales executive for the Western New York Region. Quenneville is president of the Buffalo market.

Quenneville will supervise business banking, private banking and commercial banking in Buffalo and Rochester.

KeyBank's Eastern New York Region includes markets in Syracuse, Albany and the Hudson Valley. Its eastern territory includes a third region comprising Vermont and Maine.

Barger was not available for comment this week, bank representatives said.

In a statement, he said, "I am looking forward to moving to Rochester, as well to be leading KeyBank's commercial banking team for the entire Western New York Region."

"This is an exciting time for Key in Rochester as we continue to grow after our acquisition of HSBC branches last year. As market president, I will ensure that Key's commitment to the local community remains strong and that we continue to help our customers thrive."

The bank has assets of $89 billion, with 1,076 full-service branches and more than 15,000 employees in 14 states.

Statewide changes
Carriero's departure is part of a statewide reorganization of personnel and territories announced by the bank last Friday. The Cleveland-based bank has transformed 18 districts into nine regions.

"I would've been moved to another district, maybe in a different capacity," Carriero said. "It was kind of nebulous. Aside from that, I'm at the top of my game here."

Consequently, Carriero said, he decided to retire.

"I've enjoyed it tremendously," he said. "I don't really want to go somewhere else and do this again, or play a role in some other district. I've really loved this one.

"I felt it was perfect age, perfect timing, (and) they've given me a very strong (retirement) package. They've really been very gracious to me. There's a point where you have to know when to come and when to leave. I just felt this is a perfect time to transition."

Carriero was appointed Rochester district president on March 7, 2006, after eight years in charge of the bank's McDonald Financial Group private banking division in the Capital Region, Hudson Valley and Central New York districts.

He moved to Brighton but maintained his residence in Glenmont in the Albany area and plans to settle there soon.

"I have a new grandchild," Carriero said of his ties to eastern New York. "I have a second one on the way. I really just need to take a break, to be honest. I need a breather for a while. I really want to enjoy the family, a 9-month-old baby. It's just a different phase of my life."

His fiancee also lives in the Capital Region.

"The other issue is my mom is 89 years old and at the point where I think I need to give more attention to her," Carriero said. "She's in Connecticut, and I need to spend much more time with my family in Connecticut as well."

Carriero joined KeyBank in 1976 as a management associate and has been employed by entities of parent company KeyCorp for all but three years since.

"It was a great opportunity," he said. "In light of the reorganization, I looked at my options. I've got 34 years in at Key. I've been here in Rochester seven years. I've loved this job. ... This was a great gig for me. I've really loved it a lot. But it's time."

Carriero has been an asset to KeyBank, said William Koehler, president of Key Community Bank and KeyBank N.A.

"Jim's leadership, experience and strategic insights have made a significant impact, not only on our Rochester market but also on the company," Koehler said in a statement.

New president
Barger, the incoming district president, has a background in business development for middle-market clients generating $10 million to $250 million in annual revenue. He has been a commercial banking manager at Key for nine years.

Before that, Barger was business development adviser and senior client manager in commercial banking for Bank of America N.A. in Syracuse.

"He not only is a personal friend and colleague; he's a highly competent guy," Carriero said. "I've worked closely with him before, and I thought this was perfect.

"It's not like there's going to be a vacant seat here in Rochester. There's a guy coming in who I'm friendly with, and I know he's a great manager. I know Jim and his skills. He's very good with people. He's very good with clients."

Barger plans to come to Rochester twice each week until Carriero leaves.

"I'm going to introduce him to our clients," Carriero said. "It's a matter of redoing schedules, but I want to get him in as soon as possible."

KeyBank is restructuring the leadership within all 23 markets to further reduce complexity and affirm its commitment to local communities, Koehler said. Market presidents are advocates for clients and are responsible for maximizing KeyBank's impact on each of its local markets.

The bank went from nine branches in Monroe County to 20 in July 2012 with its acquisition of 11 former branches of HSBC Bank USA N.A., a consequence of the purchase of 195 HSBC branches by First Niagara Bank N.A. KeyBank increased its employment in the county to 232 from 113. It also acquired an HSBC branch in Medina.

KeyBank ranked 10th in the Rochester market with local deposits of $546.4 million as of June 30, 2012, according to the latest data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The rankings include the First Niagara-HSBC transaction but do not include subsequent deals involving KeyBank, Community Bank N.A. and Five Star Bank.

The 12 HSBC branches acquired by KeyBank held deposits of $678.2 million as of June 2012, which would increase KeyBank's market total to more than $1.2 billion, not including post-acquisition withdrawals.

"If I have any legacy, it is that all-for-one-and-one-for-all strategy that really worked well for us," Carriero said.

"The other thing was, because of how well we worked with each other here, when the corporation decided to do a merger, they saw the power and enthusiasm within our teams in both Buffalo and Rochester and were very comfortable that the merger would go well. We had an exceptional merger here. It went extremely well, and that doubled our size here."

Beth Mooney, president and CEO of parent company KeyCorp, was traveling this week and not available for comment on Carriero's retirement or the reorganization, representatives said.

In an interview with the Rochester Business Journal during a stop in Rochester in June 2012, Mooney declined to discuss the long-term plans for her bank as a result of its growth in the Rochester and Buffalo markets.

"I think (Carriero) and his team would say let us adjust to what we're getting," Mooney said at the time.